1. It is now time to tell you something about the Picts and Scots. They were the people of Scotland, and were called by the Romans Caledonians, which meant men of the woods, because they were very rude and fierce, and lived among woods and wilds.
2. They had always been sad enemies to the Britons; but the Romans had kept them away, and the good governor Agricola built a row of strong forts, all across their country, and placed soldiers in them, to make the Caledonians keep on the other side.
3. However, they sometimes managed to break through; so the Emperor Severus, who was here from the year 207 to 211, had a stone wall built across that narrow part, where Northumberland joins Cumberland, and it was so strong, that parts of the banks and forts are still remaining.
4. But when all the Roman soldiers were gone, the Picts and Scots began to come again, and robbed the people of their corn and cattle, and stole their children for slaves, and did a great deal of mischief.
5. Now, if the British princes had agreed among themselves, and joined together to drive out these terrible foes, things might have gone on very well; but they were foolish enough to quarrel, and go to war with one another; while some of the captains, who wanted to be princes, got a number of soldiers to help them, and took possession of different places, where they called themselves kings, and made the people obey them.
6. They did not continue the good Roman laws; nor elect magistrates to keep order in the cities, as used to be done while the Romans were here; and tillage was neglected, because the farmers were afraid their crops would be destroyed, so that numbers of people died of famine.
7. There were still many Romans in Britain, who were not soldiers but were settled here, most of them having married into British families; and there were a great number of people who were Britons by birth, but whose ancestors had been Romans; and all these were desirous that the country should still be governed by the Roman laws, and formed what was called the Roman party.
8. But there was a British party also, that wanted to do away with the Roman laws altogether, and not to let the Romans have any thing to do with ruling the country; so each of these parties elected a king.
9. The Britons chose a prince named Vortigern; and the Romans chose one called Aurelius Ambrosius; and there was war between them.
10. Then Vortigern, the British king, thought it would be a good thing to get some other brave people to join his party, that he might be able to overcome his rival, as well as to drive away the Picts and Scots; so he proposed to some of the British chiefs that they should ask the Saxons to come and help them, and they thought it would be a good plan.